Electronic and Optical Properties of Two-Dimensional Germanium Carbide
Summary
Two-dimensional germanium carbide (GeC) forms a planar honeycomb lattice of alternating Ge and C atoms, exhibiting sp² hybridisation and a direct electronic band gap of roughly 2.1 eV at the K-point. First-principles calculations reveal moderate carrier effective masses and a pronounced density of states near the band edges, yielding strong light–matter coupling. Optical absorption extends from the visible into the ultraviolet region, with distinct excitonic peaks that can be tuned by strain, chemical functionalisation and heterostructure assembly. Surface decoration and heterobilayer formation modulate the work function, enhancing charge-separation efficiency in photocatalytic and optoelectronic devices. The combination of earth-abundant constituents, tunable electronic structure and robust optical response makes GeC a compelling platform for applications in transparent electronics, photodetectors, spintronics and energy harvesting.
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Electronic and Optical Properties of Two-Dimensional Germanium Carbide publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in electronic and optical properties of two-dimensional germanium carbide across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Band gap: Energy difference between valence and conduction bands governing optical absorption and electronic transport.
Work function: Minimum energy required to remove an electron from a solid to the vacuum level.
Exciton: Coulomb-bound electron–hole pair responsible for sharp optical absorption features.
Density functional theory (DFT): Quantum-mechanical approach for calculating ground-state electronic structure of materials.
Van der Waals heterostructure: Stacked assembly of two-dimensional layers held by weak interlayer forces.
sp² hybridisation: Planar bonding arrangement combining one s and two p orbitals in a trigonal geometry.
References
- Non-metallic doped GeC monolayer: tuning electronic and photo–electrocatalysis for water splitting. Frontiers in Chemistry (2024).
- Theoretical Study on Electronic, Magnetic and Optical Properties of Non-Metal Atoms Adsorbed onto Germanium Carbide. Nanomaterials (2022).
- Structural, electronic and thermoelectric properties of GeC and MXO (M = Ti, Zr and X = S, Se) monolayers and their van der Waals heterostructures. RSC Advances (2023).
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